Board members will now enter into negotiations with McGlynn, who previously served as the executive director of Sobriety High, a now-shuttered charter school in the Twin Cities. He also worked there as a teacher and served on the board.

"We wanted to make sure that we had feedback from staff, admin and parents so it wasn't just a board decision," said board President Michael Carbonneau.

Consultant Greg Vandal facilitated an hour's worth of discussion Friday, with each group naming strengths and concerns regarding each of the four candidates: McGlynn, Tammy Biery, Brett Fechner and Randall Vetsch.

Biery, the former STRIDE board president, resigned her post at the end of January then applied for the position. She was selected as one of four finalists from about 15 applicants.

All four were interviewed Friday by the board and answered questions from the stakeholder groups.

At one point in the meeting, while discussing candidates, the four groups -- parents, teachers, administrators and board members -- gathered in hushed separate huddles. From across the room, the board members' discussion could not be heard.

While the stakeholders lauded Biery's experience in the business and financial world, her lack of experience in education administration was a concern for them. They then considered the other three candidates and narrowed it down to Fechner and McGlynn.

After more discussion, a quick verbal straw vote yielded three for McGlynn and two for Fechner.

A motion to select McGlynn was approved 5-0, with one board member abstaining, as she had missed a portion of the interviews.

"I think there was four really good candidates, and the parent group concurred with how they narrowed it down," said parent Jon Halter, whose three children attend STRIDE.

"It's a great opportunity for STRIDE," Carbonneau said.

___
(c)2014 the St. Cloud Times (St. Cloud, Minn.)
Visit the St. Cloud Times (St. Cloud, Minn.) at www.sctimes.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services